Hawaii ranks second
for sick leave benefits
Hawaii ranks second in the country after California in providing sick leave benefits for employees, according to a report by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
California received a "B-plus" grade and Hawaii rated a "B" in an analysis of laws and regulations governing sick leave in the states and federal government.
Mississippi and Louisiana were the worst, receiving "F" grades.
No state received an "A" grade because no state guaranteed private workers access to paid leave.
The "Get Well Soon: Americans Can't Afford to be Sick" report was released yesterday at a news conference at which federal lawmakers introduced a Healthy Families Act.
The bill would guarantee seven paid sick days annually for full-time employees and a pro-rata amount for part-time employees. It would cover public and private employers with at least 15 employees.
The sick leave report card describes "a picture of need and neglect."
"The failure to provide paid sick days to workers causes profound harm to families. It also results in unnecessary costs to businesses that spend money recruiting and training new workers, when employees already in place could often keep their jobs if some paid sick leave was available to them," the report states.
Hawaii is one of few states that provide private sector workers with paid leave for a short-term disability and requires private employers to allow workers to use paid leave to care for family members.